The "phi" Phenomenon
Hawkeye
Join Date: 2002-10-31 Member: 1855Members
Join Date: 2002-10-31 Member: 1855Members
in Discussions
<div class="IPBDescription">Golden Mean, Divine Number</div> It's been called the Golden Mean, the Divine number, or simply "Phi."
The number is approximately 1.618, which strangely is a universal constant. It is one of the strangest ratios found in nature and the universe. The ratio of the distance from the sun to Venus over the distance from the sun to Mercury is pretty dead-on accurate to 1.618.
It is found in hermit spiral shells. The ratio at which it shrinks every rotation is exactly 1.618. The distance from our shoulder to the tip of our fingers divided by the distance from your elbow to the tip of our fingers.. phi.
Wrist to tip of fingers over start of fingers to tip of fingers...
Your height over the height from your bellybutton to the floor...
The proportions of your face...
All phi..
Architects have tried to replicate this ratio EVERYWHERE. It was considered the divine number by God as some sort of unit with which to design the universe. Consequentially, you'll find the greatest painters (Leonardo Da Vinci included) replicate this in their works.
<a href='http://www.nu-art.com/final/nature.html' target='_blank'>http://www.nu-art.com/final/nature.html</a>
Thoughts?
The number is approximately 1.618, which strangely is a universal constant. It is one of the strangest ratios found in nature and the universe. The ratio of the distance from the sun to Venus over the distance from the sun to Mercury is pretty dead-on accurate to 1.618.
It is found in hermit spiral shells. The ratio at which it shrinks every rotation is exactly 1.618. The distance from our shoulder to the tip of our fingers divided by the distance from your elbow to the tip of our fingers.. phi.
Wrist to tip of fingers over start of fingers to tip of fingers...
Your height over the height from your bellybutton to the floor...
The proportions of your face...
All phi..
Architects have tried to replicate this ratio EVERYWHERE. It was considered the divine number by God as some sort of unit with which to design the universe. Consequentially, you'll find the greatest painters (Leonardo Da Vinci included) replicate this in their works.
<a href='http://www.nu-art.com/final/nature.html' target='_blank'>http://www.nu-art.com/final/nature.html</a>
Thoughts?
Comments
The mystical number might as well be 666 billion, and if you would just start looking, you could find it everywhere; "Hey, if I divide the amount of hairs on my back with the amount of stars in the US flag, and then multiply it with the amount of letters in my newspaper...GASP: 666!" <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Edit: Also, note how they use the word "approximately"
Or, how about pi? Its ~3.1416 and just happens to be the ratio of the circumference over the diameter of a any given circle. This means it works its way into so many places in maths.
Numerology in nearly all forms=coincidence and overreaction?
I'd say yes.
Reality is Merly in your Mind.
Ever Notice how everyone seems to be in thier own universe.
Some very similar. some not.
So is that the number pattern was left by our creator for us to descover?
maybe.
maybe the universe was created with one giant Chaos Therory algerithem on Life energy.
and thats one of the thingies
::shurgs::
Agreed.
Same with the "23" and the pyramid as symbols of the illuminati for example. You can find variations of "23" in sooo many things... you just have to look hard enough.
There's a German movie about a Hacker at the times of the cold war who became obsessed with the illuminati and found variations of "23" wherever he looked. Don't know if this movie has been released in other countries, but I think it's a good view. The title's "23" btw <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Wrist to tip of fingers over start of fingers to tip of fingers... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
If the "accuracy" of the golden number is so approximated, it's really just a matter of looking for it. I'm pretty sure that if you gave me long enough, I could come up with just as many cases that fit approximately 2,9975423. So really, yeah, if you look enough for something you'll find it.
Of course, they'll get about 37000 digits in and realize that then it changes. Oops!
My personal favorite... if pi started repeating itself. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Of course, they'll get about 37000 digits in and realize that then it changes. Oops!
My personal favorite... if pi started repeating itself. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Technically, since pi isn't rational, and statistically its digits are random, this could very easily happen.
But all the places where it fits with reallife is approximations. The relationship between my fingers and my hand is not exactly equal to those of everyone else.
Nor do I believe the relationship between the planets' distance to the sun is so precise.
So, while Phi is not an approximation, all the cases where it supposedly fits are.
where F(n) is the nth number in the fibonacci sequence
In case that was indeciferable, it means that as the numbers in the fibonacci sequence approach infinity, the ratio between two consecutive numbers gets closer and closer to the golden ratio. (incidentally, the exact value of the golden ratio is (1+sqrt(5))/2 )
For those who arent familiar with it, the fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which each one is the sum of the previous two, starting with 1,1. It starts 1,1,3,5,8,13,...
(for you tool fans out there, the syllabic breakdown of the syllables in the verse of "lateralus" follows the fibonacci sequence. Adds a little more meaning to "spiral out")
The fibonacci sequence was originally proposed as a way to model the growth of rabbit populations. And its not suprising to me that it approximates a lot of ratios within natural processes well. Anything that has spiral growth is going to exhibit something like the golden ratio.
The golden ratio has been known for centuries to be an ideal way to space elements in a composition, and the ratio is around you in your everyday life more that you probably realize. There are sites that list all the examples, but here's one: Credit cards are almost exactly golden rectangles.
Ah, didn't know that.
Makes more sense with an actual reason it would be like that than just calling phi a "divine constant".
Those of you that claim it is, I invite you to find places where the constant 34 is shown. I pulled it out my butt. Lets see how easy that is to replicate in nature.
And by the way.. it's true about the fibonacchi numbers.
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55
1 / 1 = 1
2 / 1 = 2
3 / 2 = 1.5
5 / 3 = 1.66667
8 / 5 = 1.6
13 / 8 = 1.625
21 / 13 = 1.6153846
34 / 21 = 1.6190476
55 / 34 = 1.6176471
Rememeber phi = 1.618.
Take a pentagon. The ratio of the chords to the center of the pentagon is 1.618.